Kuwait PM says two Kuwaitis among 94 accused in UAE plot trial

RIYADH (Reuters) - Two Kuwaiti citizens are among 94 suspected Muslim Brotherhood members on trial in the United Arab Emirates accused of planning to overthrow the state, Kuwait's prime minister said.

The two are "suspected of involvement in financing this cell", Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak al-Sabah said in an interview published by pan-Arab daily Asharaq al-Awsat on Saturday.

The UAE's attorney general was quoted in January as saying the group was linked to Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood and had sought to infiltrate state institutions with the aim of seizing power. The trial started early this month.

The Muslim Brotherhood is not banned in Kuwait, which has the most open political system in the Gulf, and several opposition politicians are openly affiliated with the group. Political parties are still barred in the country.

The UAE has avoided the unrest that has unseated autocratic Arab rulers elsewhere in the past two years. It has a state-sponsored cradle-to-grave welfare system and has come down hard on any sign of political dissent.

Kuwait and the UAE are both members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a six-member group of close Gulf Arab allies that also includes Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman.